Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes are coming off of two straight losses to the Michigan Wolverines and Jim Harbaugh, including a dismantling at the hands of the Wolverines in 2022. Amid Ohio State football fans calling for Ryan Day's head, the head coach explains why the Buckeyes lost to Michigan last season, reports Buckeyes Now's Caleb Spinner.

“I think back on this year and our rivalry game. You want the game so bad that the focus can just be on winning the game, but what does winning the game actually mean? You can't just win the game. You have to win each play…When you're playing a team or a player that's equal to you, you have to focus on winning every single possession, every single play. And how do you do that? Great technique, great focus. Eventually, you win the game.”

Ryan Day seems like he is saying that he didn't have his players focused hard enough on every individual play. He believes that the Buckeyes wanted to win, but they wanted to win the game, not every play. If they wanted to win every play, they would have had a better chance to put together enough possessions to ultimately win the game.

It is sound reasoning from Day, and essentially comes down to discipline and conscious intent on doing the absolute best with every possible opportunity. Stoic advice, and Ryan Day will hope his players take it to heart before this year's rivalry game. If the Buckeyes do take their coach seriously, it would come as no surprise to see Ohio State football back on top of Michigan in 2023.